St. Paul man sentenced in stolen art scam

ST. PAUL — A St. Paul man has been sentenced to three years of probation for claiming his pricey art had been stolen and then collecting insurance money.

A federal judge also ordered Jason Sheedy to pay more than $325,000 in restitution to insurance companies. The 39-year-old Sheedy could have gone to prison for more than two years.

Federal prosecutors say Sheedy claimed some valuable artwork had been stolen from a van while he was moving in September 2007. The following year he filed insurance claims and was sent checks totaling about $345,000. In 2011, Sheedy listed six of the painting he said were stolen on an art brokerage website.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press says an art theft registry business spotted the paintings and alerted police. Sheedy pleaded guilty to wire fraud last year.